


one look at you, my whole life falls in line

by xbrittniex3



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Dad Malec, Fluff, Immortal Husbands, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 23:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13985889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xbrittniex3/pseuds/xbrittniex3
Summary: What would it be like, he wonders, to raise a family with Alec?Losing himself in watching Alec and Madzie in the kitchen, he allows himself to imagine such a future. A future with the laughter he hears ringing in his hears, but with their own child. He sees late nights at bedsides telling stories to sleepy boys that just won’t sleep. He can see babies with curious, wide eyes, and he wants to tell them all of the secrets of the universe. He can see them all in his mind's eye, different faces, different children - different futures he could have, but each with Alexander.It’s the first time he’s ever entertained these thoughts before, and yet… he finds that he’s not intimidated by them. Because for more than four hundred years, he’d believed that children, a family, would never be a possibility for him. But it is. It’s a concept so real to Magnus that it almost feels tangible, and his heart is soaring.





	one look at you, my whole life falls in line

Magnus is met with a shriek of laughter, a crash, and Chairman Meow bolting down the hallway as he portals home. He’s exhausted, having been away for an inane meeting with the High Warlock of Milan that lasted days. Somehow, in dealing with all of that chaos, he’d forgotten that they’d agreed to babysit Madzie for Catarina today. 

That explains the racket.

For all the time she spends quietly, Magnus has noticed that she opens up so incredibly to people she trusts. Judging by the voices, he can tell just how much she trusts Alec, and it brings a smile to his sleepy face. He follows the voices, ready to reunite with the love of his life and his favorite pseudo-niece after all that time away.

Their voices lead him to the kitchen, and he’s met with a bigger mess than he’d have thought a grown man and a ten year old could ever create by themselves. What appears to be cake batter drips from the ceiling, and Alec is gingerly picking broken glass from the floor. He’s laughing, so his repeated attempts to tell Madzie to stop using _so much_ magic to stir the batter isn’t exactly being taken seriously, and she flings a spoonful of cake batter his way in retaliation.

Magnus is too amused to bring himself to move from his spot leaning in the doorway. They’re happy, he thinks, in that little bubble - scooping batter into a cupcake pan, not worried about the storm raging outside, or the apparent spike in demon activity in Italy. It’s almost cathartic, to hear their laughter, to watch them be so at ease. All too often, their shoulders are set and heavy with the weight of their lives and their duties - warlock and shadowhunter alike. But Madzie is too young, and Alec needs a break, and Magnus is happy they have this moment. He’s happy for their reprieve. 

He’s not naive enough to think there will ever be a time without war. He knows this reprieve won’t last. He’s lived through centuries of it - world wars that decimated humanity, wars in the Shadow World. He’s lived through Valentine twice. He’s no stranger to violence, and he knows it will keep coming. But for once, he wants to believe that there could be peace in the middle of that storm. Peace enough to settle down, to think of the future. To think of a family.

What would it be like, he wonders, to raise a family with Alec?

Losing himself in watching Alec and Madzie in the kitchen, he allows himself to imagine such a future. A future with the laughter he hears ringing in his hears, but with their own child. He sees late nights at bedsides telling stories to sleepy boys that just won’t sleep. He can see babies with curious, wide eyes, and he wants to tell them all of the secrets of the universe. He can see them all in his mind's eye, different faces, different children - different futures he could have, but each with Alexander.

It’s the first time he’s ever entertained these thoughts before, and yet… he finds that he’s not intimidated by them. Because for more than four hundred years, he’d believed that children, a family, would never be a possibility for him. But it is. It’s a concept so real to Magnus that it almost feels tangible, and his heart is soaring. 

“Hey, I didn’t hear you come home.”

Magnus drags his mind back to reality and the man in front of him, and the feeling in his chest only magnifies upon seeing Alec’s expression. He takes a few steps forward so he can wrap his arms around his husband, tucking his face in the crook of his neck, and pressing a kiss there. He feels the tension in Alec’s body release as he holds him, and he knows his relief is just as noticeable - the sigh of contentment he lets out when they touch isn’t exactly quiet.

“Anything new happening around here? Demon attack? The Clave up to no good?” he asks, leaning against the wall again as he pulls back and watches Alec, who only shrugs before launching off into a tale of his week. But then his eyes are locked on Alec, and his attention begins to drift.

“Magnus?”

He’s still talking, he realizes moments later, having been distracted by Alexander’s lips forming words instead of listening to the actual words themselves. But after five days away, he figures he’s allowed to have missed those hands, those lips… The way those hands and lips…

He shakes his head.

“Sorry, you were saying?” Alec’s expression is a mixture of smugness and also exasperation, and Magnus shouldn’t be as amused by it as he is. “I really was listening, Alexander. It’s just been a week, and I…”

“I know, I know.” Alec moves closer, one hand reaching for Magnus’s, the other holding his face gently. He presses a kiss to his forehead, to each cheek, before settling against his lips and giving him the welcome home kiss he deserves. “I love you, and I will show you exactly how much later,” he says, giving Magnus a pointed look that causes a shiver to run down his spine, “but Cat’s going to be here within the hour, so let’s try to be reasonable until then.”

“Duly noted.” Magnus nods and heads off to help Madzie with the rest of the cupcakes, but not before noticing the look of sheer adoration that covers Alec’s face. He’s not sure what he’s ever done to deserve all those glances that he’s always throwing his way, but he also won’t question it. If he had this way, he’d never stop looking at Alec - he’d always be looking at him like he placed the stars in the sky.

++

Magnus watches Catarina and Madzie disappear into the portal before turning to face Alec. Instinctively, they’re drawn to each other, and Magnus slides his arms around Alec’s waist and buries his face in his shoulder. He inhales deeply as Alec holds him close, and he loses himself in that comfort and security.

“I’ve been thinking…” he begins, his voice slightly muffled by the press of his mouth against Alec’s skin. He pulls back, if only to meet his eyes. He doesn’t want to beat around the bush, because this idea is all consuming, and he wants Alec to know how much it means to him. “I think… I think we should have a kid. Or at least think about it. Really consider it.”

Magnus cannot find the words to describe the way Alec’s eyes seem to shine once the words leave his mouth, or the way his grip seems to get just a little tighter. He could try, but for all his years on this earth, he’s never learned the words to explain the joy he sees reflected in his husband’s gaze.

“I want to,” Alec says, and while he’s not surprised that he wants kids, Magnus is still blown away by him voicing it. Alec’s arms untangle from around him so that he can gently hold his face in his hands. He never feels more open than when he’s put in this position, but he’s also never felt more loved. It’s the way Alec does it, touching him so carefully, with a look in his eyes that speaks of nothing but love and undying devotion. “I want that with you, Magnus - a child, a family. I’ve always wanted that. I want everything with you.”

The way Alec says it, so _earnestly_ , is enough to make him fall in love all over again. He’s floating on a cloud as he slides his hand into Alec’s and laces their fingers together. He can feel Alec’s ring against his skin and he can remember so clearly - Alec, on one knee, baring his soul, and Magnus being overcome. And, not long after, wedding vows that still take his breath away. Now, a few years later, with eternity literally in front of them, there’s a new step to take, and he’s excited for it.

“I love you,” he says, even though the words sometimes don’t seem like enough to explain how he feels. He runs his free hand through Alec’s hair, the soft strands tickling his fingers. Alec’s eyes close at the sensation. “Sometimes it feels like we’ve known each other for a thousand different lifetimes.”

“What, like soulmates?” Alec asks, eyes fluttering open again to take in his expression. “Do you really believe that?”

“Alexander, I’ve had countless love stories over the years,” he says, his hand drifting from Alec’s hair to his face, his thumb brushing over his cheek, “but not a single one has ever been like this. All I know is that when I met you, it felt like coming home. Like my soul was built to be with yours.”

Alec’s soft smile is enough to bring tears to his eyes, and he slots their lips together and lets himself be overcome by these emotions. He’s centuries old, and sometimes he feels it. Not in the creaking of bones or the weakening of the mind, but in the memories that come to him in the form of nightmares, and the exhaustion that permeates his very being. He knows he’s a broken man - he has seen and done too much in his lifetime, but Alexander has loved every piece. And a family, an eternity with Alec - it’s all he could have ever asked for, and it’s his. And it’s wonderful.

++

Alec’s sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, Max wrapped in a blanket in his arms. He’s stroking his cheek softly as the words fall from his lips, a lullaby from his childhood, as he rocks the chair back and forth. He doesn’t notice Magnus right away, so he takes a moment to appreciate the scene in front of him. It’s the middle of the night, the sleepy look on Alec’s face gives testament to that, but his eyes as positively glowing as he sings to their son.

Their son.

He’s only been in their lives for a week, but already he’s taken up such a large space in Magnus’s heart. He’s only been in their lives for a week, but Magnus knows he’d walk through hell ten times over, face any demon, do anything, to keep Max safe.

“Did we wake you?”

Alec’s voice brings him back to reality and he shakes his head. He doesn’t sleep well when they’re not together, the press of Alec’s back against his chest the kind of warmth he needs to pull him under. Even if he’d slept through Max’s fussing, he’d have woken because Alec was gone. But he doesn’t mind missing sleep for this. He’d never sleep again if it meant watching Alec, with his messy hair and soft smile, singing their son to sleep.

“Worth it,” he says, coming over to stand beside Alec and press a kiss to his forehead. “It looks like he’s finally asleep.”

“I know,” Alec replies, looking down at the sleeping bundle in his arms. It’s the most beautiful image Magnus has ever seen, and he’s tearing up over it. “But I don’t want to put him down. Is that weird? I don’t want to put him down because I don’t want to stop holding him.”

Magnus lays a gentle hand on Alec’s shoulder in support. He understands, wholeheartedly. He understands because he feels it too, that need to hold and protect. He’s wanted this for so long, and sometimes it doesn’t seem real to him. Sometimes he needs to hold Max, needs that reminder that this is real and not fantasy, that his oldest wish has become his reality.

“I understand,” he says, as he reaches out to take Max from Alec, who pouts. He lays him in his crib, and it takes everything in him to turn away and reach a hand out to Alec. “But you need sleep as well, love. Come on. He’ll still be here in the morning.”

The truth in that statement has him grinning, and he leads Alec back to bed with stars in his eyes and the promise of a million tomorrows. A future that he cannot wait to live through.

++

He comes home to a shriek of laughter, a crash, and Chairman Meow bolting down the hallway. He follows the noise to the kitchen where Alec and Max are cleaning up their attempt at dinner from the floor, and he lets out a sigh of relief. It’s only been a few years since Max came into their lives, since having a family became a reality instead of an unrealistic dream, but now it’s the only reality Magnus would ever accept.

“You’re home!”

Magnus bends down to scoop Max in his arms as he runs to him, and spins him around a few times before setting him back down. He’s getting emotional, and it’s silly because Max is almost four and this is his daily life, but sometimes it’s just overwhelming. Plus, he’s been gone all weekend dealing with warlock business and he missed his family.

Alec’s looking at him like he understands exactly what Magnus is thinking - and he probably does, since he’s spent weekends away for work himself - and meets his lips for a kiss.

“Welcome home,” he says, pulling back to see Magnus’s face. He brushes his thumb across his cheek, and Magnus melts. “I hope you know three days is an incredibly long time to be away, and we’ve missed you terribly.”

Magnus presses another kiss to his lips and wraps his arms around Alec. With his face pressed into his neck, he thinks about how incredible all of this is. It’s only been ten years or so, which is nothing to an immortal, but the three of them have eternity in front of them, and Magnus is so excited to see what their future holds.

**Author's Note:**

> I've spent the last two weeks thinking solely of Malec as dads and I can't get over how much I need that to be a thing. Anyway, please let me know what you think! 
> 
>  
> 
> [Catch me on tumblr.](http://luminousalexander.tumblr.com/)


End file.
